This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content here are presented solely by the author, and The Times of Israel assumes no responsibility for them. In case of abuse, report this post.

Bob Simon & 60 Minutes: Continued Anti-Israel Bias

Blogger

Ronn Torossian
Ronn Torossian is the Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer of 5WPR. Headquartered in New York City, the
… [More]firm is one of the 25 largest independent public relations firms in the United States. 5WPR has been named “PR Agency of the Year” by the American Business Awards; and Ronn Torossian is the winner of the Silver Stevie Communications, Investor Relations, and PR Executive of the Year of the Year Award by the American Business Awards. Ronn’s book, “For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results with Game-Changing Public Relations,” received rave reviews. He is a member of the prestigious Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and is an active board member of a number of non-profit organizations. Ronn Torossian is a frequently sought after communications expert, often appearing on FOX News, CNBC, Huffington Post, Time Magazine, and other major media outlets. He resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his family.
Email: rtorossian@5wpr.com
Facebook: Ronn's Facebook
Twitter: Ronn's Twitter
Page[Less]

If Israel only gave back the West Bank, there’d be peace in the Middle East according to 60 Minutes and CBS News. It is historically inaccurate, biased and wrong. The segment which aired tonite blamed Israel across the board – as Bob Simon and 60 Minutes have done for many years.

In 2009, Simon argued that Israel makes peace impossible by building settlements – and he continued that incorrect trend tonite with linkage essentiually stating that because Israel builds in the settlements they shouldn’t be able to protect themselves from terrorist attacks upon innocent civilians.

Tonite’s show’s transcript reads:

Bob Simon: The Americans have already given $270 million dollars.

Ehud Barak: More than this, I believe, along the, yeah.

Bob Simon: And they’re promising just the Iron Dome another $660 million–

Bob Simon: While the Americans are helping you so much in your defense. Israel goes on building settlements, which is exactly what the Americans don’t want. How does that work, when you’re asking America for help and doing exactly what the Americans don’t want you to do?….How does it work? I mean, right now, Israel has just announced the building of a gigantic settlement project. This is at the same time that the Americans are providing the money for Israel’s most important defense system.

Following this logic as long as Israel builds settlements, America shouldn’t help fund Israel’s defense. Message: Build settlements and you shouldn’t live.

As Michael Oren, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. said tonite: “60 Minutes was right: The Iron Dome missile defense system does not take lives, it saves lives. But 60 Minutes missed the true connection between Iron Dome and settlements: Israel was compelled to build Iron Dome after it uprooted 21 Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip and Hamas took over Gaza and used it to launch thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians.” What does a technological advance which protects innocent people have to do with the settlements?

Simon’s arguments haven’t changed that much. In 1999, Simon described settlements as apartheid: “Demographers predict that, within ten years, Arabs will outnumber Jews in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Without a separate Palestinian state, the Israelis would have three options…They could try ethnic cleansing…they could give the Palestinians the vote…or they could inflict apartheid — have the minority Israelis rule the majority Palestinians. But apartheid regimes don’t have a very long life.”

In that segment, Simon described the Jewish settlements as: “…dominating the lowlands like crusader fortresses. Many are little cities, and none of them existed 40 years ago. The Israelis always take the high ground, sometimes the hills, sometimes the homes. And sometimes, Arabs are occupied inside their own homes.”
Last year, Simon and 60 Minutes aired “Christians of the Holy Land” which attacked Israel for the vanishing Arab Christian population in Israel – ignoring the war that Mulsims wage upon Christians in the Middle East. Oren then said – rightfully – that the story was “a hatchet job.”

As CEO of 5W Public Relations, through the years have observed many including Aish Hatorah, Camera and editorial after editorial objecting to Bob Simon. Its offensive and awful. The double standard against Israel is sickening – who are they to tell Israel anything?

To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

By signing up, you agree to our
terms
You hereby accept The Times of Israel Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and you agree to receive the latest news & offers from The Times of Israel and its partners or ad sponsors.